Grenade saves mobile home from destruction

Submitted by admin on Tue, 07/30/2013 - 4:25pm

Tool snuffs fire started by boy

A fire suppression grenade stopped the destruction of a mobile home on fire in Storm Lake on Friday afternoon.

When police arrived at 600A West Eighth St. at 12:30 p.m., the homeowner was attempting to stop the fire with a garden hose. A Storm Lake police officer deployed a fire suppression grenade through a broken window to slow the fire until firefighters arrived.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the remaining fire. Damage was contained to the bathroom of the mobile home.

After an investigation police made contact with a 12-year-old boy. According to police, the boy was playing with matches and accidentally set the house on fire while the adults in the family were asleep.

The boy was charged with reckless use of fire, a serious misdemeanor. He was processed and released to a parent pending a court date.

The case has been forwarded to the Juvenile Court Authority.

Damage was estimated at $7,000. No injuries were reported.

Fire investigators credit the use of the fire suppression grenade as being instrumental in extinguishing the fire. The grenades are still fairly new, as the fire and police units began carrying them in fall 2012.

Fire Chief Mike Jones reports that the suppression grenade was “very effective” in this incident.